The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing a wire to produce wires necessary for wiring work by measuring and feeding, by a predetermined amount, a long insulated wire, cutting and stripping (removal of the insulative covering) the wire, transferring a cut-off short wire in a direction perpendicular to the wire feed direction, and attaching an electric connector to the cut wire.
We have proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 54-52051 a wire processing apparatus which includes a device for supplying and paying out a wire by a predetermined amount, a device for gripping a leading end portion of the fed wire and turning it into a hairpin shape, a device for cutting the supplied and measured wire to form a trailing end thereof, and a device for gripping opposite end portions of the cut-off wire and transferring it in a direction perpendicular to the wire paying-out direction.
This type of wire processing apparatus is suitable for relatively long wires such as those longer than 1 m but not for relatively short wires such as those of a length within the range of 10-100 cm. Additionally, this apparatus is designed to process relatively long wires and, therefore, it cannot avoid a bulky construction while failing to produce accurately measured short wires with ease.